AquaBounty's experimental production facility of genetically
modified (GM) salmon in Panama is missing multiple legally required permits and
inspections, including a wastewater discharge permit, according to an
administrative claim filed yesterday in Panama by the environmental group Centro de
Incidencia Ambiental de Panama (CIAM).

Aquabounty's GM salmon is awaiting approval from the US Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) to become the first food from a GM animal to be
marketed anywhere in the world. The fish eggs are intended to be produced on
Prince Edward Island, Canada, and to be shipped to an inland facility in Panama
to be grown to adulthood. The fish fillets and other products would then be
shipped back into the United States. Commercial production of the fish has yet
to be approved in Canada or Panama, but experimental facilities are in
operation.

"It is shocking that commercial production of GM salmon
could be authorised in future in facilities which fail to meet environmental standards"
said Dr Helen Wallace, Director of GeneWatch UK. "Aquabounty must stop treating
regulatory requirements like a game of pass the parcel between Canada, Panama
and the USA."

The CIAM complaint follows several other reports of major
problems at AquaBounty's Panamanian facility, including escapes caused by severe
weather.

GeneWatch UK previously submitted evidence to the FDA
questioning the approval procedure for the GM salmon (2). The FDA has not
undertaken a full environmental impact assessment but plans to approve the
salmon on the basis that its production overseas means there will be minimal
impact on the environment of the United States. GeneWatch argues that the draft
FDA approval fails to protect the global commons and environments of other
states because wild salmon populations could be threatened by escape of the GM
fish or eggs.